In the upcoming General Assembly elections, religious conservatives will vote for candidates who best address the issues they care about, such as the right to life, school choice and family oriented tax cuts, said Gary Marx, director of the Virginia Christian Coalition, in a speech to the College Republicans last night in Cabell Hall.
Marx told an audience of about 20 that religious voters play a pivotal role in elections, pointing to the 1994 congressional elections in which Republicans took the U.S. House and Senate, and in which most of the new voters were religious conservatives.
He said religious conservatives, often associated with the Republican Party, were loyal to issues, not to political parties.
"Whichever party makes the best pitch on the issues" will win their votes, he added.
In an interview after the speech, Marx said religious voters will look for candidates that uphold the ban on partial birth abortions and who support school choice.
Religious voters want candidates who will "allow parents to choose the best education for their children, whether that be public, private or something else," he said.
Tax cuts beneficial to families are another major issue for religious voters. "A low tax burden for the family" is a major concern, he added.
In the speech, Marx said the Christian Coalition advocates certain issues but does not support specific candidates.
In its political activities, the Coalition takes the approach that "'you should vote for this issue,' but not, 'you should vote for this candidate,'" he said.
He added that the Coalition only was involved actively in politics, not in religion.
"It is not a religious organization, it is a political grass-roots organization," Marx said.
Following Marx's speech, Jason Miyares, campaign manager for state Sen. Stephen H. Martin (R-11), spoke about his experience working in the Virginia government, noting that politics can be much more complicated than it might seem on the surface.
Some General Assembly legislators "will say one thing in public and advocate something entirely different in conference," Miyares said, adding that members of both parties can be guilty of this.
He also said the egos of lawmakers can obstruct the legislative process, and that relationships among lawmakers are key to achieving goals in the General Assembly.
"Nothing moves in politics unless it's pushed," he added. "That's a very important part of politics -- building relationships."
Miyares also described his experience campaigning where he said the will to win sometimes is more important than expertise.
"A lot of it is just common sense, hands-on stuff," he said.
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